Transit Ridership

Desired Trend

Current Trend

Definition

Why is it Important?

Public transit provides a variety of benefits, including reduced pollution, reduced energy use, reduced congestion on roads, and accessible transportation options for users of all ages and abilities. Public transit also benefits the local economy and increases access to employment opportunities. The number of boardings on public transit shows how often the system is used, and provides an indication of the efficiency and efficacy of the system. This indicator measures ridership on Metro and Madison County Transit Systems, which are the two major transit providers in the St. Louis region.1

How are we Doing?

In 2016, transit ridership in the St. Louis region was higher than it was in the baseline year (2010), but ridership has declined over a longer time period. Between 2010 and 2016, total ridership in the region increased by 8.6 percent. There were 43.0 million trips on public transit in 2010, compared with 46.7 million trips in 2016. Much of this increase is from bus trips, which increased by 15 percent from 2010 to 2016. The number of trips on MetroLink has decreased slightly during this period, from 15.83 million trips in 2010 to 15.78 million trips in 2016 (a decline of 0.3 percent).

Ridership in the region reached a peak of 56.5 million in 2007 following the Mid-County MetroLink extension. This extension added nine new stations from Forest Park to Shrewsbury. However, in 2010, total ridership declined by 22 percent amid the economic recession and following Metro’s service reduction in March of 2009. With a 2010 tax initiative, Metro was able to restore transit services throughout its service area, but ridership has still not fully returned to pre-2009 levels.

More recently, transit ridership has declined over the last two years. Between 2014 and 2016, ridership declined by 8.5 percent. This decline may be attributable to several factors, including falling gasoline prices as well as concerns about safety and security. For instance, between December 2014 and December 2016, the national average price of regular gasoline fell by 29 cents or 11.3 percent.2

Another indicator of transit use is passenger miles, which shows the total number of miles traveled by transit users. Passenger miles increased in the St. Louis region from 2000 to 2016 by 8.6 percent, even though ridership declined over the same time period. The increase in passenger miles is partly due to a decrease in bus travel, which averages lower miles per trip, and an increase in light rail, which averages higher miles per trip. There was also an increase in average distances for both bus and light rail trips over the last decade in the St. Louis region. The average miles per bus trip increased from 4.2 miles in 2000 to 5.1 in 2016, and the average miles per light rail trip increased from 6.7 miles in 2000 to 8.2 miles in 2016.

In 2016, the St. Louis region ranked 24th among the 50 largest metro regions with a total of 21.7 transit boardings (or unlinked passenger trips) per person. Transit ridership in the St. Louis region is substantially lower than the peer region average (66.5 trips per person).

Geographic Level

Metro Transit and Madison County Transit service areas, including St. Louis County, the City of St. Louis, Madison County, and St. Clair County

Notes

1Transit ridership for this indicator is measured using unlinked passenger trips, meaning that each boarding is counted even if it is a transfer. Although this method over counts the total number of trips, it provides a more accurate estimate of ridership than linked passenger trips because there is less room for error. Ridership statistics include trips by bus, light rail, van pool, and paratransit (a transportation service that helps the elderly or disabled reach medical appointments, school, or work.)